An Emotional Guide to Assessing Your Team’s Trade Deadline Moves

If you’re not exactly sure how to feel about your team’s moves at the Trade Deadline (and the days leading up to it, because Ray Shero), this will be your emotional guide. Refer to this if you feel the need to boast or cry, depending on whether you’re a Blue Jackets fan or a Flames fan.

Anaheim Ducks:

Acquisitions:

F – Harry Zolnierczyk

F – Matthew Lombardi

Future Considerations

Departures:

G – Jeff Deslauriers

F – Brandon McMillan

F – Jay Rosehill

What That Means:

You lose a tough guy and an average scorer for your AHL Admirals. You also lose a perfectly capable goalie in Jeff Deslauriers, who isn’t all that bad, when you look at his time as the starter in Edmonton. He was stellar in the shootouts he played in, and when the team in front of him played halfway decent, he was able to win games.

You gain a guy that has 3 goals in 44 NHL games, and a guy that’ll now be playing for his third team in this short season, well technically, considering he was a Maple Leaf at the start of January (and 5 teams the last 5 years). The Maple Leafs couldn’t wait to get rid of him after scoring a mere 8 goals in 62 games last season. When it was announced that the Coyotes had reacquired him (played for Phoenix from 2008-10), he was quoted as saying “I’m super excited. I never wanted to leave in the first place, so it’s a great opportunity.”

So that must’ve been pretty awkward when he was traded 21 games later…

How you should feel:

You should NOT FEEL HAPPY after these moves. The Lombardi trade makes no sense, given his recent play. I’ll say this. Unless future considerations means Don Maloney will personally reimburse Bob Murray the $2 million cap hit that Lombardi carries at the end of the season, it’s a loss for the team.

Boston Bruins:

Acquistions:

F – Jaromir Jagr

D – Wade Redden

F – Rob Flick

Departures

F – Lane MacDermid

F – Cody Payne

F – Maxime Sauve

Conditional 2nd Round Pick this year

Conditional 7th Round Pick next year

What That Means:

Jaromir Jagr is Jaromir Jagr. He will thrive on a good team for once (so good that Jagr will likely have to play on the second line). Philadelphia and Dallas weren’t exactly the 1991 Penguins. Wade Redden might be a good addition, depending on how well he adjusts to having an NHL-caliber defensive partner. Losing a 7th rounder doesn’t do a whole lot, and Boston has had a lot of extra picks in the past from good trades (cough cough Tyler Seguin cough). The Bruins have also drafted well in the past, so trading a few spare picks won’t hurt them.

How You Should Feel

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with these moves. OK really only the Jaromir Jagr trade. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli obviously took notes from Penguins GM Ray Shero after losing the Jarome Iginla deal. Either that, or he bought “How To Acquire a Future Hall-of-Famer and a Roster Defenseman By Trading Guys No One’s Heard of Before.”

Buffalo Sabres

Acquisitions:

G – Matt Hackett

F – Johan Larsson

1st Round pick this year

2nd Round pick this year

Conditional 5th Round pick this year

2nd Round pick next year

2nd Round pick next year

2nd Round pick in 2015

Departures:

F – Jason Pominville (The Captain)

D – Robin Regehr

D – Jordan Leopold

4th Round pick next year

What That Means:

You just lost your captain and arguably your two best defensemen, and your team has little to no chance of making the playoffs. Ryan Miller has less of a chance to succeed because of this.Darcy Regier and Jay Feaster are probably long-lost brothers. Jhonas Enroth will soon be on his way out this offseason once his contract expires.

You gained a boatload of picks, and the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals have already been set. Your Sabres will take on the Calgary Flames. Hackett may one day be an NHL starter, and he will definitely be a solid backup next season for the Sabres.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with these moves. Jason Pominville only has one year left on his contract anyway, and it’s best to let him move on. Regier realized it’s time for real change in his organization, and he’ll definitely talk about that a lot when the next GM has success and he and Feaster are drinking together at the bar across the street from the arena.

Calgary Flames:

Acquisitions:

F – Kenneth Agostino

F – Ben Hanowski

D – Mark Cundari (prospect)

G – Reto Berra (prospect)

1st Round pick this year

Conditional 1st Round pick this year

Departures:

F – Jarome Iginla (The Captain)

D – Jay Bouwmeester

What This Means:
Your team just lost their captain of 9 years in a move that will only benefit the franchise in the next 3-5 years. They also lost their best defenseman, who was having his best season as a Flame.

The Flames also stockpiled a lot of draft picks, like the Sabres did. Considering the way the Flames have drafted in the past, maybe that wasn’t so smart.

Their last pick that has even been decently successful is Michael Backlund (sort of). Their last good pick/impact player was in 2003, when they selected Dion Phaneuf 9th overall

How Should You Feel:

I’ll go out on a limb and say that, as a fan, you SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with this. You knew the rebuild had to come sooner or later. Obviously it came much later, which gave you the opportunity to watch the legend himself, Iginla, stay longer than was beneficial for his career. You should be happy with the loyalty Jarome showed, and respect his decision to be traded to a contender.

Carolina Hurricanes:

Acquistions:

D – Marc-Andre Bergeron

Conditional 7th Round pick this year

Departures:

F – Jussi Jokinen

F – Adam Hall

7th Round pick this year

What This Means:

You lose a faceoff specialist and an underachieving forward. You gain an underachieving defenseman. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

How You Should Feel:

The Hurricanes have gone 1-9-1 in their last 11 games. You SHOULD NOT FEEL HAPPY with this, given the fact that they had almost $13 million in cap space to work with.

Chicago Blackhawks:

Acquisitions:

F – Michal Handzus

F – Maxime Sauve

D – Kirill Gotovets

Departures:

4th Round pick this year

F – Rob Flick

F – Philippe Paradis

What This Means:

The addition of Handzus to the already unstoppable Blackhawks roster was a great move. He’s a master of faceoffs, and will add depth to Chicago’s forward lines. He will likely stay on the 4th line with all the talent higher up on the depth chart. You also gain a French forward who has the ability to put up points in Sauve. In the QMJHL he accumulated 192 points (76 goals) in 219 games. His AHL career is still impressive, though not as much as this Junior days. For the Providence Bruins, he scored 89 points (44 goals) in 158 games. Gotovets isn’t known for his offense, but he has much experience already in his career, having played for the Belorussian national team in the World Championships in 2010 and 2011. He plays for Cornell of the NCAA.

Rob Flick was a tough center, and was more known for his PIMs rather than his points. Paradis only had 27 points in the American Hockey League in 102 games. And I think we’d all agree that Chicago doesn’t need that pick.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with this move. As minor as this may seem, having a veteran like Handzus around might not be the worst thing in the world when it comes to the playoffs, especially if injuries are a problem.

Colorado Avalanche:

Acquisitions:

F – Tomas Vincour

Departures:

D – Cameron Gaunce

What This Means:

The Avalanche gain a big-bodied forward (6-2 203) that has not had a lot of success in the scoring department. To this point, he’s played in 85 NHL games, scoring just 7 goals and 8 assists. In the AHL he scored just 30 goals in 113 games.

They lose a decent defenseman who scored 60 points in 197 games in the AHL and 1 goal in 11 games of NHL experience.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL INDIFFERENT with this prospect swap. There’s no clear winner/loser in this case (that’s determined well into the future). Your team is dead last in the league, and has no chance of making the playoffs this season. It’s best to write the season off and look to the draft and next season…and that’s the Cold Hard Truth.

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Acquisitions:

F – Marian Gaborik

F – Blake Comeau

D – Steven Delisle

D – Blake Parlett

G – Michael Leighton

3rd Round draft pick in 2015

Departures:

F – Derek Dorsett

D – John Moore

F – Derick Brassard

G – Steve Mason

5th Round pick this year

6th Round pick this year

Future Considerations

What This Means:

Now Columbus can assemble the Ranger line of Anisimov, Dubinsky, and Gaborik. First-year general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and first-year (with Columbus) President John Davidson pulled off the biggest move at the deadline, and have now positioned their team for a deep playoff run. Wow, think about that. The Blue Jackets are going to prevent a perennial playoff team from making the playoffs.

You definitely lose some toughness with Dorsett leaving, but Jared Boll is still a Jacket, so don’t worry about that. The addition of Gaborik will easily offset the loss of Brassard. Also there really can’t be any pressure for Michael Leighton, given how poor Mason played this season. If he plays halfway decent, then they win that trade.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY these moves and PERSONALLY SEND KEKALAINEN A THANK-YOU NOTE

Dallas Stars:

Acquisitions:

F – Lane MacDermid

F – Cody Payne

D – Kevin Connauton

D – Cameron Gaunce

D – Joe Morrow

2nd Round pick this year

5th Round pick this year

Departures:

F – Jaromir Jagr

F – Derek Roy

F – Brendan Morrow (The Captain)

C – Tomas Vincour

3rd Round pick this year

What This Means:

This means that the Stars have officially given up any hope of claiming a playoff spot, even though they are only 5 points back of 8th place St. Louis. You lose your captain, the man who just scored his 680th career goal (game-winner) in his first game for the Bruins, and another really strong forward.

You gain zero roster players in the process. I will now refer you to the Calgary Flames section.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD NOT FEEL HAPPY about these moves. Not even a little.

Detroit Red Wings:

Acquisitions:

Conditional 7th Round pick in next year’s draft.

Departures:

Kent Huskins

What This Means:

Detroit had 10 defenseman…now they have 9.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD NOT FEEL GOOD about the no-trade decision. There were plenty of available options out there this trade deadline. Jay Bouwmeester would’ve been worth it. Keith Yandle would’ve required a likely Filppula/another impact forward+draft pick deal, which would’ve definitely benefited the Red Wings. Yandle is a scoring defenseman who is also responsible defensively. Valtteri Filppula will likely continue to demand too much money before July1st, and will land on another team anyway. It will soon be seen if the status quo is the way to go.

Edmonton Oilers:

Acquisitions:

F – Kale Kessey

D – Garrett Stafford

F – Jerred Smithson

Departures:

F – Tobias Rieder

F – Dane Byers

4th Round pick this year

What This Means:

You gain a physical winger, a veteran defenseman that’s played for 9 different AHL teams and 3 different NHL teams (a whole 7 games of NHL experience), and a tough center who has just 95 points in 579 career NHL games.

You lose a goal-scoring winger who is tearing up the minors right now. You also lose a 27-year old tough winger with minimal NHL experience.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL INDIFFERENT with this move. I’m not sure I know the reasoning behind trading Rieder, but Kessey might be a really good acquisition.

Florida Panthers:

Acquisitions:

4th Round pick this year

Departures:

F – Jerred Smithson

What This Means:

Florida isn’t going anywhere soon. They might as well get a draft pick here and there to plan for the future.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL GOOD about this lone transaction. Things need to change, and fast in Florida, and it starts at the draft. The Panthers currently don’t have enough attractive assets to market a big name player at this point in time. The best way to build now is through the draft.

Los Angeles Kings:

Acquisitions:

D – Robyn Regehr

5th Round pick this year

Departures:

D – Davis Drewiske

2nd Round pick next year

2nd Round pick in 2015

What This Means:

You lose a defenseman that scored just 22 points (4 goals) in just 126 games with the Kings over 5 seasons. You gain a veteran defender who has experience in the Stanley Cup Finals, when his Calgary Flames almost defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s a rugged defenseman that is not known for putting up the points, but is solid defensively, and still very dependable.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY about this move. After a dismal start to the season, the Kings have gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and now sit 4th in the West. Regehr can only help them in the playoff stretch run.

Minnesota Wild:

Acquisitions:

F – Jason Pominville

G – Jeff Deslauriers

4th Round pick next year

Departures:

G – Matt Hackett

F – Johan Larsson

1st Round pick this year

2nd Round pick next year

Future Considerations

What This Means:

Jason Pominville was the captain in Buffalo. He’s a good leader. He joins other young stars Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, and Mikko Koivu on a Minnesota team that is looking very scary to opposing teams.

Losing Hackett doesn’t mean a whole lot, because Deslauriers has experience being a starter when he played for the Edmonton Oilers

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY about these decisions. The benefits far outweigh the negatives of losing the draft picks.

Montreal Canadiens:

Acquisitions:

D – Davis Drewiske

Departures:

5th Round pick this year

What This Means:

Daily Faceoff lists Drewiske as playing on the first defense pairing. For the cost of a 5th Round pick, that’s not a bad price for a decent defensive defenseman.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL GOOD about this trade…unless Drewiske turns out to be a bust. In that case, DO NOT.

Nashville Predators:

Acquisitions:

F – Filip Forsberg

Conditional 7th Round pick this year

Departures:

F – Martin Erat

F – Michael Latta

D – Scott Hannan

What This Means:

You lose two aging players and your team currently sits in 13th place in the West. Forsberg is one of the best prospects out there. That’s a great acquisition by a team with a history of trading for Forsbergs.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY about these moves. Apparently Erat didn’t like it in Nashville anyway.

New Jersey Devils:

Acquisitions:

F – Steve Sullivan

Departures:

7th Round pick next year

What This Means:

Sullivan returns to the team that drafted him way back in 1994. He has 5 goals in 33 games this season, but now has one goal in two games with New Jersey.

You lose a last-round pick…next year.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL A LITTLE HAPPY, but only if New Jersey makes the playoffs. If they don’t, then they wasted a pick.

New York Islanders:

Acquisitions:

None

Departures:

None

What This Means:

Usually I would criticize GM Garth Snow around this time of year, but his Islanders are in 8th place currently, so I’ll refrain until they drop out of the playoff race in a week.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL PRETTY GOOD RIGHT NOW, if not only for the fact that your team is currently in 8th place.

New York Rangers:

Acquisitions:

F – Ryane Clowe

F – Derick Brassard

F – Derek Dorsett

D – John Moore

Departures:

D – Steven Delisle

D – Blake Parlett

2nd Round pick this year

3rd Round pick this year

Conditional 2nd Round pick next year

What This Means:

Apparently Ryane Clowe likes New York well enough to score. He scored twice in his first game as a Blueshirt (or are they now called the Blue Jackets? I’m not sure). Brassard is a nice addition to the Ranger offense especially with the loss of Marian Gaborik. Dorsett will aid Clowe in providing the physicality that was lost when Mike Rupp was traded to the Minnesota Wild.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with these moves. Gaborik really wasn’t producing at a high enough pace. The Rangers got a lot for a little.

Ottawa Senators:

Acquisitions:

F – Cory Conacher

4th Round pick this year

Departures:

G – Ben Bishop

What This Means:

You lose a really good goaltender in Bishop. Fortunately, since you’re a Sens fan, you soon realize that you still have two outstanding goaltenders left.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL REALLY HAPPY with this move. Conacher will help the offense with Jason Spezza still out of the lineup. The only consequence of losing Bishop is that now you’ll be forced to see more of Robin Lehner and Craig Anderson…Poor you.

Philadelphia Flyers:

Acquisitions:

G – Steve Mason

D – Kent Huskins

F – Jay Rosehill

Departures:

G – Michael Leighton

F – Harry Zolnierczyk

3rd Round pick this year

Conditional 7th Round pick next year

What This Means:

You gain a decent backup goaltender that’ll help Ilya Bryzgalov take a night off once in a while. You also gain a veteran stay-at-home defender and a tough prospect.

You lose a decent backup goaltender and a mediocre winger.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with these moves. Mason is a question mark. If he succeeds, the Flyers might win some games.

Phoenix Coyotes:

Acquisitions:

F – Brandon McMillan

F – Matthew Clackson

F – Tobias Rieder

3rd Round pick this year

7th Round pick next year

Departures:

F – Matthew Lombardi

F – Steve Sullivan

F – Raffi Torres

F – Joel Rechlicz

F – Kale Kessy

What This Means:

Out with the old. In with the new. The losses of Torres and Sullivan won’t hurt the Yotes.

Currently Tobias Rieder is tearing up the OHL. Matthew Clackson is tearing up other players. McMillan isn’t bad either. Gotta love those draft picks too!

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY about these trades. Your team will only improve in the long-run.

Pittsburgh Penguins:

Acquisitions:

F – Jarome Iginla

F – Brendan Morrow

F – Jussi Jokinen

D – Doug Murray

3rd Round pick this year

Future Considerations

Departures:

F – Kenneth Agostino

F – Ben Hanowski

D – Joe Morrow

G – Patrick Killeen

1st Round pick this year

2nd Round pick this year

5th Round pick this year

Conditional 2nd Round pick next year

Conditional 7th Round pick this year

What This Means:

OK, so Sidney Crosby and James Neal are both potentially out long-term. For most teams, this situation would be a season-ender. Fortunately Pittsburgh has GM/Genius Ray Shero, who somehow found a way to steal two current captains, Jarome Iginla and Brendan Morrow for next to nothing. Doug Murray is a good edition to their blueline’s structure. Jokinen is good at faceoffs too. And am I the only one that thinks that “Future Considerations” means “Stanley Cup”?

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY and promptly GET BACK TO YOUR PARADE AND STOP GLOATING.

San Jose Sharks:

Acquisitions:

F – Raffi Torres

D – Scott Hannan

2nd Round pick this year

2nd Round pick this year

4th Round pick this year

Conditional 2nd Round pick next year

Departures:

F – Michal Handzus

F – Ryane Clowe

D – Doug Murray

3rd Round pick this year

Conditional 7th Round pick this year

What This Means:

You lose toughness by dealing Clowe, and gain it right back by trading for Torres. Hannan is a former Shark and has a lot of NHL experience.

You lose an average depth forward, a guy who failed to score even one goal in 28 games with San Jose this season, and an average, stay-at-home defenseman.

In the process you gain four draft picks. Well done.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY about these moves. Your team has only lost one game in regulation in its past 10. Something is being done right.

St. Louis Blues:

Acquisitions:

D – Jay Bouwmeester

D – Jordan Leopold

Conditional 7th Round pick next year

Departures:

D – Wade Redden

D – Mark Cundari

G – Reto Berra

Conditional 1st Round pick this year

2nd Round pick this year

Conditional 5th Round pick this year

What This Means:

Your team landed the most-sought-after defenseman available. The Blues have won three straight since his arrival. The addition of Leopold further bolsters their blueline with veteran leadership and experience.

Redden won’t be missed. You also lose two prospects who aren’t even in the top 10 list of Blues prospects according to The Hockey News. This season Berra has played 49 games and has a 3.01 GAA and .906 SP. They won’t be missed.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY about these moves. None of your top prospects were moved. You all but stole Bouwmeester from the Flames, a team so desperate for goaltending that they’ll literally take anyone. Say what you will about Bouwmeester, on a good team he’s a top pairing dependable defenseman and the Blues are quickly realizing that.

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Acquisitions:

G – Ben Bishop

F – Adam Hall

F – Philippe Paradis

7th Round pick this year

Departures:

F – Cory Conacher

D – Marc-Andre Bergeron

D – Kirill Gotovets

4th Round pick this year

What This Means:

You gain a goalie who, in his first game with your team, recorded a 40+ save shutout. The addition of Adam Hall will only be beneficial if he can re-find his game. His production has dropped dramatically since his days in Nashville, which caused him to be an AHL regular after playing nearly every game for the Predators for three seasons. You also gain a big-bodied defensive defenseman that hasn’t played in the NHL at 22 just yet.

You lose a rookie of the year candidate in Cory Conacher. You lose, but won’t miss, sub-par defenseman Bergeron. Gotovets goes to Cornell University, so maybe he’ll be smart enough to find out why the Bolts aren’t winning games. Come on Kirill, we’re waiting.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with these moves. Out of all the non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, Tampa Bay is the only team that has a positive goals-for/goals-against ratio. They have scored 7 more goals than they’ve allowed. From that stat alone, it’s clear that the problem is in net, and Ben Bishop is the answer to their problem.

Toronto Maple Leafs:

Acquisitions:

D – Ryan O’Byrne

Departures:

4th Round pick next year

What This Means:

O’Byrne was drafted by Toronto’s rivals, the Montreal Canadiens back in 2003. He’s strictly a defensive defenseman, and I’ll venture to say that he’s better than Mike Komisarek.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with this move Toronto fans. The Maple Leafs will likely finally make the playoffs, and this trade won’t hurt their chances of doing so.

Vancouver Canucks:

Acquisitions:

F – Derek Roy

Departures:

D – Kevin Connauton

2nd Round pick this year

What This Means:

With David Booth and Manny Malhotra out, Derek Roy will fill their place on the roster. Roy is a goal scorer that’ll definitely help the team in the stretch run and in a possible playoff run. Playing for a much better structured team will greatly benefit him.

You lose an offensive d-man in Connauton. However in this case, I believe the positives outweigh the negatives.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with this transaction. Derek Roy may be just what the Canucks need to succeed.

Washington Capitals:

Acquisitions:

F – Martin Erat

F – Michael Latta

F – Dane Byers

F – Joel Rechlicz

Departures:

F – Filip Forsberg

F – Matthew Clackson

D – Garrett Stafford

What This Means:

The acquisition of Martin Erat won’t make that much of a difference. You lose your best offensive prospect for an aging veteran on the decline. Bad move. You gain a really tough forward who is said to be a playmaker and sometimes a threat on offense. Good move. You also gain another really tough winger that last year accumulated 267 penalty minutes and has a lone assist in 26 NHL games. You decide on this one.

You lose a tough winger who racks up penalty minutes like it’s his sole purpose. You also lose a second collegiate player that has played 7 career NHL games: 2 with Detroit, 3 with Dallas, and 2 games with Phoenix. Maybe for Edmonton he’ll play 4!

How You Should Feel:

Overall YOU SHOULD FEEL HAPPY with these moves. Your team is now tougher and has some veteran experience. With that said, I don’t see the Capitals making it far in the playoffs (if they make it).

Winnipeg Jets:

Acquisitions:

None

Departures:

None

What This Means:

According to crazy NHL rules and regulations, the Winnipeg Jets (currently 10th place) are one win away from 3rd place in the East and a first-round exit. Just stating the facts. The rest of the teams in the playoff hunt are doing much better.

How You Should Feel:

You SHOULD NOT FEEL GOOD with this decision. The Jets will barely squeeze into the top-8. Maybe standing pat wasn’t such a great idea after all.

…And with that said, please proceed to follow me on Twitter @yungspork

Kevin Sporka

Kevin Sporka is the Senior Media Analyst and Detroit Red Wings beat writer at HOHM. He is also the author of the Fantasy Hockey Fridays, In Retrospect, Milestone Monday, and Legends By the Number segments.